Why now was the time for DeMeco Ryans to take back control of the Texans' defense
· Yahoo Sports
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
The Houston Texans are 0-4, and head coach DeMeco Ryans announced Wednesday that he’s taking over defensive play-calling duties once more. That’s now a move a team makes at 2-2.
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Even in a 17-game season, starting 0-4 is usually a death knell for a team’s postseason hopes. Only one 0-4 team has ever made the playoffs: the 1992 Chargers.
It’s hard to blame Ryans for pushing this button now. The Texans featured an elite defense last season and returned most of its firepower, yet the results have been highly uneven so far.
Will this move help? Let’s unpack the Texans’ issues and see if they can make a historic turnaround.
Why Ryans is taking over the defense again
After announcing he’d be taking over play calling, Ryans praised defensive coordinator Matt Burke. Ryans’ message was that the scheme wasn’t changing, just the guy who’s calling it.
There’s a certain irony and a cyclical quality to the whole thing. A year ago, when the Texans got off to an 0-3 start, the switch went the other way, Ryans, who had been calling the defense to start last season, handed the reins to Burke for the fourth game.
The result? A shutout over the Titans. The Texans’ defense was mostly excellent after that. At that time, Ryans said he wanted to oversee the operation and that he trusted Burke, who had called plays in the preseason.
That was a delegation issue. Now Ryans is re-seizing control of the defense that he helped construct. Will it help? And if so, how?
Will Anderson Jr. is off to a terrific start to the season, and the pass rush really hasn’t been the biggest issue. The run defense also has been capable, holding opponents to 3.4 yards per carry.
The biggest statistical problems with the Texans have come in pass coverage. When the rush isn’t getting home or impacting quarterbacks, there have been too many open receivers making plays downfield and not enough plays on the ball from the Houston secondary.
The Texans have allowed 17 plays of 20-plus yards — an average of more than four such plays per game — which is tied for second-worst in the NFL, behind only the Lions. Sixteen of those 20-plus plays were passes; the other one was a Josh Allen scramble.
The timing also hasn’t been great: Houston held a fourth-quarter lead in three of its four losses, with the defense allowing the go-ahead scoring drives in all of them. If they’d made a few more stops in the first four games, their defensive worries wouldn’t be zero, but the team’s record might look a heck of a lot better.
Ryans and Texans players have highlighted communication issues on the back end as a big reason why. That’s probably the biggest issue Ryans has to figure out. It’s not a question of scheme. It’s a matter of execution and all 11 Texans defenders being on the same page.
Ryans was smart to take the blame and not throw Burke under the bus with the demotion, although it’s hard to take it any other way. Still, this is Ryans’ team, defense is his specialty, and he knows how late it’s getting even this early in the season.
The schedule may also have played into this move
The timing of the move makes sense when you consider how desperate a position the Texans are in now, but there’s also a forward-looking element that could help.
The Texans head to Nashville to face the Titans, also sitting at 0-4, on Sunday. It’s an absolutely must-win game if the Texans harbor any real hopes of pushing the 3-1 Jaguars for the division, or even vying for a wild-card spot.
The Titans have struggled offensively, scoring 55 points through four games. Only the Miami Dolphins (46) have scored fewer; the next-lowest after the Texans are the Packers, with 71 points. The Texans held the Titans to zero and 13 points in the two meetings a year ago. If they can’t show improvement defensively in Sunday’s matchup, then it’s fair to wonder what the heck is going on.
The stakes raise after that. Houston heads to Wembley Stadium to face the Jaguars in Week 6, and it’s probably another must-win affair — as most games will be from here on out. But the Jaguars are the division favorites now, and their offense has been humming. The Texans can use the Titans game as the test run, but the next week will be the real test.
If the Texans can somehow make it to 2-4, with a win over the first-place Jaguars, the schedule is fairly manageable thereafter. Their toughest remained games after that, as things stand now, would be the second Jaguars game and a tough one against the Ravens, both in Houston. The only other remaining opponents with winning records now are the Giants and Browns.
Ryans knows this is the time. He can worry about Burke and any hurt feelings or optics later. Right now, the head coach knows he has to get things steaded, or they’ll never have a shot in 2026.
There would still be a lot of heavy lifting from that point, and not a lot of room for too many more losses along the way, but it will have justified the switch.